LOTRO Champion Guide:
Race Traits

For the LOTRO Champion picking the right race traits isn't critical, but can make a difference. Race traits depend on which "race" you are - dwarf, man, elf, or hobbit. For a champ hopefully you picked man or dwarf... they are my preferred races for this class for many reasons. Put simply, the race traits from the man and dwarf race are most useful. Here I'll share my thoughts on which to equip from each.

Man Race Traits
This is the best race for the LOTRO champion in my opinion. You get a nice damage bonus from sword weapons, a big heal - known as the man heal, and a buff to parry/block/evade. Here's what I would slot:

     • Man Sword-damage Bonus
      +2% to One-handed and Two-handed Sword Damage

     • Balance of Man
      +260 to Block, Parry, Evade ratings

     • Strength of Morale
      +2200 - 3000 Morale

     • Man of the Fourth Age
      +20 Will

     • Tactics and Might Bonus
      +5% to Power and Damage from Fellowship Skills

You can certainly change these up a bit. For me though, I would only think about swapping the Man of the Fourth Age trait with the Duty-bound trait. Of course I run with hunters a lot so I don't need the trait for porting to Bree ;) This trait setup is meant to benefit the group most. If you're a solo player than then trait however you benefit most.

Dwarf Race Traits
This is also a good choice for a champ. You get a damage bonus from axe weapons, a trait that gives a 10 second damage absorb, and a buff to block chance. It's a race more suited to guards, but definately works for champs as well. Here are my choices of traits.

     • Dwarf Axe-damage Bonus
      +2% to One-handed and Two-handed Axe Damage

     • Dwarf-endurance
      +50 Vitality to entire fellowship

     • Endurance of Stone
      +75% Common, Shadow, and Fire Mitigation (10 sec)

     • Fateful Dwarf
      +20 Fate

     • Guile and Might Bonus
      +5% to Guile (yellow) and Damage (red) Fellowship Skills

If you're going to off-tank with a shield you may want to slot the Shield Brawler trait that give +480 to block rating. The setup shown is pretty good for grouping though. If you're running with a captain that uses In Defense of Middle Earth (IDoME) and you know that an extra 50 vitality is useless then swap that trait out for something else.

Elf Race Traits
This is the worst choice for a LOTRO champion because of the reduced morale and might that the elves have. It still works though so don't get too upset if you're an elvish princeling ;) I've seen some great elf champs out there. Here's what I'd use if I were you!

     • Elf Sword-damage Bonus
      +2% to One-handed Sword Damage

     • Eldar's Grace
      +75% Parry and 5% Partial Parry Mitigation (10 sec)

     • Power of the Eldar
      +2% to Power for entire fellowship

     • Friend of Man
      +20 Fate

     • Tactics and conviction Bonus
      +5% to Power and Morale Fellowship Skills

You can also use the Sylvan Shadows trait if you're going to PvMP in the Ettenmoors. It's not terribly useful but can come in handy at times.

There are obviously a lot of other race traits a LOTRO champion could use, but these are the ones I find most useful for most situations. Most of the others aren't terribly useful or are only necessary in rare cases. As always though, use your judgment and play around with what works best for you.

I hope the LOTRO champion guide for race traits helped you out. See you over in the other sections of the guide!

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